BlackBerry Enterprise Server (or BES) is the backbone of any corporate deployment of BlackBerry devices. All messages and mail are routed through this server, and administrators have finely granulated control over employee devices. Policies dictate which applications and services can be used on a BES-administrated device, plus they can be remotely locked or wiped when needed.

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| 89 CommentsWhat is BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10 (BES10)?
Those of you familiar with BlackBerry from its early days will be familiar with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). The BES was (and still is) made up of multiple services that interact with a company’s email system (Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino, or Novell GroupWise), provide secure IP...

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The Pakistan government has asked mobile phone operators to discontinue the use of BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) in the country by November 30. The government is citing security concerns around the enterprise services, and the decision was made following a meeting of several government departments in mid-July.

On top of the addition of China Mobile Hong Kong, BlackBerry has also announced 3 Hong Kong, the mobile telecommunications division of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited, is now also offering its enterprise customers Enhanced SIM-Based Licensing (ESBL) by BlackBerry, will provide enterprise customers an improved purchasing experience, meaning they can consolidate operational costs into one monthly invoice.

Nov 13, 2014
Miss the BlackBerry for Enterprise event? You can now watch the replay

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Were you too busy to tune into the BlackBerry for Enterprise event and don't feel like reading through it all? If so, you can now settle in and watch the full replay of all the announcements that happened in San Francisco. Just head on over to the BlackBerry live stream site, though keep in mind that you'll need to set aside nearly two hours if you're wishing to catch it all.

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy day for BlackBerry. Both the BlackBerry Enterprise event and Investor day are taking place tomorrow starting at 9AM PT, and we'll be tuned into it all. The Enterprise event will be streamed and anyone can tune into the investor call, plus we'll be setting up a live blog for everyone who wants to watch along and chat. As for expectations, well we know BlackBerry is going to be introducing BES12 along with BBM Meetings and we'll likely hear at least some news of the BlackBerry Classic and through the investor day, an update on BlackBerry's progress.

MindLink, developer of secure, integrated Enterprise Group Chat applications built for Microsoft Lync, has now announced a new strategic reseller agreement with BlackBerry. Starting today, MindLink joins the BlackBerry Enterprise ISV Reseller Program, which enables the company's group chat app to be distributed internationally by BlackBerry sales teams.

"This agreement signifies an important step in MindLink's aim to mobilize Microsoft Lync and become one of the world's leading enterprise chat app providers," said Joseph Do, CEO of MindLink. "It's a fantastic opportunity for the business to continue to grow its user base, and we are delighted to be part of BlackBerry's Enterprise ISV Reseller Program, which we believe will provide us with the platform to stand out from our competitors."

"Our partnership with MindLink reinforces our commitment to enterprise customers by delivering secure technology that enables a more productive workforce," said Peter Ng, Senior Director of Global Alliances and Business Development at BlackBerry. "MindLink's group chat app adds to our strong mix of enterprise-focused apps for BlackBerry 10 available through BlackBerry World."

The agreement is significant for MindLink, which was formed only three years ago, but already has 125,000 users within major financial institutions and government organisations. The application, available across all BlackBerry smartphones, as well as iOS and Android devices through Secure Work Space managed by BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES10), complements BlackBerry's portfolio of secure, end-to-end mobility solutions for enterprises.

If you're looking to learn more about BES10 and how Secure Work Space works across BlackBerry, Android and iOS then you'll want to set aside some time on July 30th. BlackBerry is hosting a BES10 Secure Work Space webinar that day from 11:00AM to 12:00PM EST.

Jul 21, 2014
At one investment firm in NY, privacy concerns are leading many to ask for their BlackBerry back

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Over at CIO today, Tom Kaneshige ran an article titled: Mobile Workers: 'I Want My Blackberry Back' It highlights comments from an IT executive at 'a well-known investment firm in New York City' and the troubles the organization is having with their Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy and MDM solutions that ultimately has employees asking for their corporate BlackBerry back.

BlackBerry has added another name to their successful BlackBerry EZ Pass migration program. This time around, Monomeros Colombo Venezolanos S.A., a leading supplier of basic and intermediate chemicals for the agricultural and industrial sectors in Colombia, opted to migrate from BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 to BES10 to manage its fleet of BlackBerry 10 devices.

"BlackBerry has always been synonymous with security and productivity. Choosing BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 as our mobile communications platform was necessary to answer the growing demands of our business. Our company demands a secure and reliable platform which allows us to access information from virtually anywhere, as well as to answer any requirements in real time from our stakeholders", said Jaime Andres Vera, Automation, Computing and Telecommunications Manager at Grupo Monomeros Colombo Venezolanos. "In addition, BES10 assures that our information is being transmitted in a secure way, and that our mobile workforce is more efficient by using a BlackBerry 10 device that balances personal and corporate use," added Vera.

The momentum for BlackBerry in this area isn't slowing down and with each and every press release issued, it shows the reach of BlackBerry in Enterprise is still the brand globally recognized and synonymous with security and there's no way BlackBerry is going to let that go. You can read on through for the full press release.

Over the past few months there has been a lot of info coming from BlackBerry about how their competitors such as Mobile Iron and Good stack up to that of BES 10 offerings. Back in May, the BlackBerry blog featured an article called 'Good Isn't all that Great, while Iron shows its Rust' and while some may have dismissed the article as BlackBerry simply defending themselves, some news coming out of The Register shows BlackBerry was arguably in the right to highlight the problems within their competitors systems and services.

Mexican electronics/banking/television conglomerate Grupo Salinas has made the jump to BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10. With 68,000 employees (most of whom are not be getting corporate smartphones, but still, that's a lot) spread across the company and more than US$57 billion in annual revenue, Grupo Salinas represents a big get for BlackBerry.

BlackBerry announced that one of their big customers, the Science Applications International Corporation, has upgraded to BES 10. Their device environment includes iOS and Android devices in addition to BlackBerry. SAIC works in a lot of government-related sectors, including training, logistics, networking, and crisis management. Obviously working in those spheres requires a fair bit of security, which BES 10 provides.

My first assignment for CrackBerry entailed meeting BlackBerry CEO John Chen, President of Global Enterprise Services, John Sims, and the VP of Global Alliances and Ecosystems, Marty Mallick. Suffice it to say I wasn't expecting to meet these gentlemen let alone be speaking with them.

But before I continue, let me start at the beginning.

BlackBerry Experience: New York was held in the beautiful and historic Gotham Hall at the heart of the city. Just walking there from the subway station one can see Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, and Herald Square in the midst of the busy streets and bustling businesses.

Itaú Unibanco, the largest private bank in Latin America, has now announced they'll be upgrading their more than 7,000 BlackBerry smartphones to BlackBerry 10 smartphones starting initially with 1,000 BlackBerry Q5's. In addition to the device upgrades, they'll also be moving to BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10 for enterprise mobility management, in order to manage and its smartphone environment and protect corporate data.​

"Enterprise mobility is a key technology for us. That is why we selected BlackBerry, which offers the best options for our employees by helping them increase responsiveness, while it maintains security and flexibility for our IT group," said Luis Antonio Rodrigues, Executive Director of Itaú Unibanco.

"Itaú Unibanco was one of the first customers to use the BlackBerry solution in Latin America. We have a long-standing partnership that is based on trust. We are honored to support Itaú Unibanco, which selected BlackBerry for its secure corporate mobility solution," said Wes Nicol, Managing Director of BlackBerry for Latin America.

Needless to say, that's a nice order for BlackBerry and Itaú Unibanco in the fact it gets Itaú Unibanco employees off BlackBerry OS devices and into something more suited for today's mobility needs. If you're looking for the full press release, you'll find it below the break and feel free to discuss more in the forums.

The rumors have been abundant over the last few weeks, and today BES 10.2 is officially available. There are plenty of new features in tow, the highlights of which is Blackberry Web Services (BWS) support for Universal Device Service (UDS). The addition of BWS helps to close the gap between UDS and BlackBerry Device Services.

Long time readers of CrackBerry will know the name and voice of Craig Johnston. Going back six years to February 2008, it was Craig Johnston who co-hosted CrackBerry Podcast Episode 001 with me. Craig was active on our podcasts for several years and occasionally would drop a post here on the blogs, imparting his immense knowledge of BlackBerry's history to our CrackBerry audience. Remember, Craig has been in the enterprise mobile space since 1999 and was a user of the original pre-BlackBerry device, the RIM 850.

Over his years working in enterprise mobile, Craig has managed BIG mobile device installations —we're talking over 40,000 users — and today is working as Enterprise Mobile Strategist for NTT Data. When he's not doing that, he's likely working on writing mobile device-related books, of which he's written 13 to date, or playing with wearable tech, his new addiction (he's also a Google Glass Explorer).

John Sims is BlackBerry's newly-appointed President of Global Enterprise Services, and he's wasting no time in letting customers know why BlackBerry trumps the competition in managing mobile devices in enterprise.

Following up the news that the Pentagon is getting hooked up with 80,000 devices, Sims took to the Inside BlackBerry Business blog and tore into shortcomings of Samsung's KNOX offering, which is trying to make inroads for Samsung into enterprise.

Dec 19, 2013
BBM used by more than 85 percent of BlackBerry Enterprise Server enabled organizations

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BlackBerry announced today that their popular instant messaging service BBM is used by over 85 percent of organizations on BES running BlackBerry devices. BBM is the top choice for these organizations as it gives them the ability to log, archive and audit BBM messages.It's also totally secure data which can be encrypted end-to-end within the organization. BBM on BlackBerry offers key solutions for users including secure chat, BBM Voice, BBM Video with screen share and even private BBM Channels.

If you're running a business and looking to make use of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 with minimum involvement, T-Mobile might have just rolled out exactly what you're looking for. In a recent email sent out to business customers, T-Mobile unveiled their Hosted Mobility Management Services for legacy BlackBerry, BlackBerry 10, iOS and Android devices that makes use of cloud-hosted BES 10 Servers.

It was only yesterday that BlackBerry's new CEO, John Chen, sent an open letter to enterprise customers reminding them that BlackBerry is not letting up on the enterprise front. Less than 24 hours later, BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.2 improvements have been announced - including some background on the large organizations that have been testing the multi platform EMM (Enterprise Mobility Management).

The new version of BES10 features some great updates for enterprise users including expanded support for iOS and Android devices as well as a new self-service portal for users that has added features and will help cut down on IT support calls. BlackBerry is working to make things dead simple for end users on BES10 and this update certainly helps things along.

Big companies with the likes of Boeing, Morgan Stanley and Secusmart are all currently testing version 10.2 and are praising it for the enhanced security, lower costs and ease of use.

“We enable any organization or government agency to manage iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices without compromising security,” said Stephen Bates, Head of the Enterprise Business Unit at BlackBerry. “No other mobile vendor has the same level of trusted and proven security as BlackBerry. We’ve achieved this with an end-to-end multi-platform solution that’s secured at the device, server and network layer. And now BES10 version 10.2 provides even more tools to help manage BYOD environments and achieve cost efficiencies.”

We had heard bits and pieces of what would be included in the release and we're happy to see such great enhancements now go official. BlackBerry is making it easy for corporations to deploy BES10 and for employees to activate their own devices with little to no effort.

BES 10.2 has been rolling along since the last beta release and it looks like an official release is right around the corner. We're getting word that the Gold Candidate was released to beta testers today so that means a full-on release can't be too far off.

This version contains a few tweaks, fixes and improvements so it's just about ready to hit the streets.

Check out the full list of updates below. We'll let you know when this one goes official.

All BlackBerry Enterprise Server

As any IT Admin will tell you, working with multiple platforms in a deployment stage can be rather tedious especially if you are working on a larger scale. Controlling and authorizing all those devices and different platforms with IT policies and security settings is no easy task. Larger organizations have managed to do it for years now without very much help from management systems but with...

Exploring the ways to activate your BlackBerry on a BES
Back when the new BB7 devices launched I wrote an article about the Enterprise Activation application compatibility issues with OS7. The article stirred up quite a bit of controversy and some really "interesting" comments, some of which told me that there is a need for some clarification on the different methods of activating a BlackBerry...

Always welcome news for me and the Enterprise BlackBerry faithful, late last week Google updated the Google Apps Connector for BES. It's great to see that this is a product Google plans to keep up-to-date and shows that BlackBerry and BES is critical to the business user.
In addition to supporting BES 5.0 service pack 3, version 4.0 of the Google Apps connector brings some of my favorite...

The BlackBerry Smart Card Reader makes it extremely easy to make sure you and your business are in compliance with operational requirements for multi-factor authentication. It offers controlled access to your BlackBerry, computer (provided it is running Microsoft Windows and is Bluetooth-enabled), PKI applications and the internet, without compromising your security. This wearable card reader...

BlackBerry Balance should really be called BlackBerry You-Shall-Not-Pass or BlackBerry Wall, but I imagine Balance looks a bit better in the marketing materials. BlackBerry Balance isn't an application, it's an idea. Your Work life and Personal life can coexist on the same device, but they must always remain separate. Corporate data is sensitive data, no matter the size or operation of a...

Aspiring telecommunications operator Qtel introduced the BlackBerry smartphone to Qatar in 2008 and was committed to take the lead in the country by introducing new models and exciting new services to the market. Today, Qtel is only fulfilling its promise by launching what it calls the BlackBerry Business Express.
Available on any BlackBerry service plan from Qtel, the BlackBerry Business...

The CrackBerry team has been doing a great job with unveiling PlayBook features and getting started tips and tricks but the big question for the targeted business customers, specifically the militant IT departments, is what controls will be in place for the BES Admin?
The first IT policies have now been released by RIM for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server versions 4.0 & 5.0 and apply to...

Shortly after RIM announced the end of life for BES 4.1.6 & 4.1.7 for both Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino, Google annonced that as of July 2, 2011 Google Apps Connector for BES 3.x will no longer support these BES versionsDeprecating support for Blackberry Enterprise Server 4.1.7
Released on 3/15/2011
Starting July 2, 2011, RIM will be deprecating support for BES 4.1.6 and 4.1.7...

RIM has announced that effective July 2, 2011 they are discontinuing support for BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4.1.6 & 4.1.7 for both the Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino platforms. This does not come as a big surprise since they stopped selling 4.1.x for both enterprise platforms back on July 2nd of last year.
If your organization is still running 4.1.6 or 4.1.7 your BES will...

It looks as though RIM has removed a huge barrier to entry to deploying the BES Express in organizations. Up to now in order to take full advantage of the BES experience you needed to pay your carrier an additional $10-15 per month for a BES Data Plan. The "BES Tax" gave you a service book on your device which allows for over the air activation. BES Express has been very popular with the...

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